[Los Angeles] Chapter 6 : The Road / Signature Millecrêpes by Lady M

Advancing into the night, we ride the freeways of California as if navigating long corridors devoured by obscurity. The only thing left are the lights by the curb of the road which scroll by, blinding us – discreet points at first, which, as we go faster and faster, blur into a continuous line imprinted on our retina. We feel the heat of the steering wheel under our hands, our warm skin starts to get clammy against the leather, our foot accelerates. 65 – let’s go over the limit. 75 – 85 – 100 miles an hour – this tunnel sucks us in. Danger electrifies us, we guzzle the kilometers by the dozens, by the hundreds – it never ends. Everything accumulates, multiplies, making the fever more intense, the euphoria more acute. We savor the moment like a treat in which we stack, endlessly, layer upon layer of pleasure, of emotion, of fantasy. Just like this dessert which aspires to infinity, alternating endlessly between crêpes and cream: a Signature Millecrêpes from Lady M Cake Boutique.

This cake – which we had met in Paris previously in a slightly different form – is composed here of 17 crêpes (individually counted), instead of the 20 announced in the shop. The crêpes are layered with what is described as a light pastry cream.

The Signature Millecrêpes by Lady M is sold by the slice, cut in the shop. The specimen we purchased has a length of 117 mm, a width of 49 mm and a height of 50 mm. The slice weights 115 grams and costs $8.00.

The Millecrêpes smells of butter and vanilla. We notice that the crêpes are all uniformly colored and very thin – each less than 1 mm thick. The evenness is such that one almost wonders whether the shop has not automated the production of these crêpes. The crêpe found on the surface seems very dry, and we find ourselves wishing it was covered with a thin crème brulée, for example, which would have brought added color and flavor, while at the same time keeping it moist.

Within the cake, the cream layers are significantly thicker than the crepes, which find themselves completely overshadowed. The cream dominates the texture of each mouthful. It does not appear to contain vanilla seeds, and comes off as slightly greasy on the tongue. Nevertheless, it has the advantage of holding the cake nicely together, enabling it to be sliced neatly.

VERDICT

The Signature Millecrêpes by Lady M is a pleasure to for the eyes, its crêpes all of uniform thickness, interspersed with layers of cream which are equally even. However, we feel that the cream is too dominant, and prevents the crêpes from being properly showcased. The latter are extremely thin, and the flavor of their dough can only dimly be tasted. The dessert could perhaps be rebalanced by reducing the quantity of cream, making it lighter in both sugar and fat content, and using a richer vanilla which would offer more distinct flavors. In addition, we notice that the crêpes become progressively drier as we go from the bottom to the surface of the cake. It seems to us that this Millecrêpes seduces more with its concept and appearance than by its organoleptic qualities.

Score: 3.1/5

Address:

8718 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
Open from Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm, and on Sunday from 11am to 6pm.
Tel: +1 424 279 9495www.ladym.com